Social participation in Austrian secondary education measured with the Social Participation Questionnaire

Austria pursues inclusive education for all students with special educational needs (SEN). However, students with SEN prove to be at risk to become socially isolated. In this study we present data on the psychometric qualities of a German version of the Social Participation Questionnaire (SPQ; Koster, Nakken, Pijl, van Houten & Spelberg, 2008), as we have used it in Austria. The SPQ has been filled out by the teachers of 460 students in secondary education, of which 55 had a diagnosed SEN. The German version of the SPQ shows good psychometric properties. The four subscales and the SPQ total score have a good reliability both for students with and without SEN. As expected, the social participation of students with SEN was estimated lower by teachers than that of students without SEN. This is true for three out of four subscales (Contacts and Interactions, Friendships and relations, and Social Self-perception). The present study generally confirms the results from previous studies in The Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium.